The first anniversary of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, receiving Royal Assent recently took place (April 3rd). It was expected to take two years to be fully implemented and take effect.
This implementation period was to give premises time to become compliant and for the Security Industry Authority (SIA) to prepare to be the regulator for the law. The SIA is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office originally set up to regulate the UK’s private security industry.
Michelle Russell, SIA Chief Executive and Laura Gibb, the SIA’s Executive Director for Martyn’s Law, who was appointed in January this year, marked the Act’s anniversary in separate blogs. Michelle said the Act marked “A historic step forward in UK public safety, for the first time recognising the role premises and events have in deterring and responding to acts of terrorism.”
Both paid tribute to Figen Murray OBE, whose original campaigning led to the development of the law, and who continues to be involved in supporting it and advising others. The law is named after her son, Martyn Hett, who was one of those murdered in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.
Organisations are currently waiting for the regulatory (section 12) guidance which will explain how the SIA will carry out its new responsibilities. Laura said the SIA was now in the final stages of preparing the draft guidance for public consultation. This will be published alongside the Home Office’s section 27 statutory guidance on what premises and events will be required to do.
According to Laura, the SIA will take a targeted and risk-based approach to the use of its powers. The SIA will also use guidance to help people engage with it and to comply with the law, and provide advice in response to specific compliance concerns.
She added that the section 12 guidance would describe “how our powers to obtain information and carry out inspections will work, and how we will use the information that we hold. It also explains how we will address non-compliance—including the circumstances in which we may decide it is necessary and proportionate to use our statutory powers—how we will set the value of financial penalties, and what information we may publish about our compliance work.”
Laura thanked organisations for their patience waiting for the publication of the section 12 draft guidance. Once published there will be at least an 8-week consultation period and she said the feedback would genuinely shape the final product.
In the meantime, the Home Office has published factsheets, and the Protect UK website is providing updates on Martyn’s Law to help businesses to prepare. Separately, the Martyn’s Law Forum, co-founded by Figen Murray and Nathan Emmerich, has formed to keep interested parties aware of the regulatory developments and to ensure they will be in compliance when the Act’s requirements are in force from April 2027.
We are committed to supporting organisations prepare for the implementation of Martyn’s Law. Some of the steps needed may not be as onerous as some believe if organisations combine better staff training and communication with the use of advanced technology.
As an NSI-Gold accredited designer and installer of advanced security systems, based in the West Midlands, we would be delighted to talk through the options available to help provide better protection. Please contact us to find out more.